The 22-year-old singer makes her big-screen debut in Sparkle (Aug. 17), which costars the late Whitney Houston.

What was Whitney Houston like on set?She was very motherly and nurturing. She could have just gone back to her trailer, but she loved to chill with us. I was devastated to lose her.

No woman has won American Idol since your 2007 win. Why?I don’t know! The past few winners have been pretty similar: guys who play guitar. I need the girls to step it up next season!

How do you spend your free time?I like to spend time with my family, playing card games and making root beer floats. I’m an old soul.

Your dad played for the New York Giants. Are you a football fan?I’m obsessed. I joined my grandpa’s fantasy football league last year, and it was so fun to talk stats with him. I get super into it!Online Extra: What dance move did Jordin teach Whitney? “Her fans know that she’s always been real and sweet and down-to-earth. When you meet somebody that you’ve grown up listening to, you kind of expect that they’re just going to come and do their thing and leave, but she loved to sit with us, and she was open to new things — we even taught her how to Dougie! Whitney was the person you wanted to be friends with. She was sweet, she was outgoing, she was funny, she was quick-witted, and that’s something her fans would love to know,” Sparks says.

The actor, 56, talks about the fifth season of Breaking Bad (AMC, Sundays, 10 p.m. ET) and his big-screen role in Total Recall, which hits theaters Aug. 3.

Breaking Bad ends next year. Will it be tough to say goodbye?It will. It’s been the role of my life. I doubt that I will tackle a character this complex and profound ever again. I’ll miss the family that we’ve created.

Can fans expect a movie?I’ve heard rumors, but I have no clue if any of the characters are going to be alive to make a movie! I think we have to wait until after the dust settles next year and see if it’s even feasible.

You play the villain in the Total Recall remake. How does it compare to the original?The original, with Arnold Schwarzenegger, was so much kitschy fun. This one is going to be a little more serious, and the special effects have greatly improved over the last 20 years. Who’s your favorite person to follow on Twitter?Albert Brooks’s little quips always make me smile. I like to follow people who tweet something more meaningful than “I just had a great cheese sandwich!”

See the Top 5 Celebrity Tweets of the Week:

jimmy fallon ‏@jimmyfallon Once in Little League I literally struck out on one pitch…I swung at it three times. #NotAnOlympian Conan O’Brien ‏@ConanOBrien It’s reported that Kim Jong-un got married. He’s registered at the local, “Bed, Bath and Other Things They Don’t Have in North Korea.”

Rainn Wilson ‏@rainnwilson Downton Abbey drinking game: Every time someone eavesdrops, do a shot of Burgandy that’s been poured through a napkin.

WALTER SCOTT ASKS … Mary Lou Retton The 44-year-old, who won the gymnastics all-around title in 1984, is on the USA Gymnastics Board of Directors and lives with her husband and four daughters (three of whom are competitive gymnas… …

A: “It’s increased business,” says Madison Hildebrand, 31, of the show, which follows agents selling high-end properties (Wednesdays, 9 p.m. ET). Josh Altman, 33, who closed $88 million in sales from January through June, says it’s “like an infomercial that plays all over the world,” adding that clients aren’t camera-shy: “It’s L.A. People like to show off!”

What can fans expect from the new album?It’s definitely the best record we’ve made so far. We’ve defined a sound that is uniquely our own.

You’re a father of four. How do you balance career and family?I spend as much time with them as I can and let them know they’re loved. I don’t want to look back and say, “Yeah, I was really successful, but I failed at fatherhood because I wasn’t there.”

What’s the story behind your famous Eat & Greet feasts before every show?I’m from Georgia, and everybody gathers around food in the South. I always thought it was sad that you couldn’t get anything really good to eat at concerts, so we sit down with our fans before every show and eat a gourmet meal that we made for them. What’s your favorite dish to serve? The chocolate peanut butter biscuit pudding is just naughty. I don’t know another word to describe it!

How was your first animated movie role? It was a fun process. I play a prehistoric rabbit named Squint. Usually I’m playing an Indian guy, so it was cool to do something different. And I was excited to do a project that everyone can see, that’s not R-rated.

You’re currently on your third major comedy tour, Buried Alive! What’s it about? My friends are starting to get married and have kids, which is terrifying to me, so it’s about dealing with adulthood. I still kind of feel like a kid, and it’s interesting when your friends become serious adults—that guy is now a father? He’s a goofball! Everyone can relate to that. What’s your favorite thing about being a comedian? I love doing stand-up. I can come up with a joke in the morning and then try it out at night in front of thousands of people. It’s amazing.

While Honest Abe may not have battled the undead, as shown in Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, some facts of his life sparked the filmmakers’ imaginations. Think you know history? Test your Civil War IQ!

THE MANReal Life: Lincoln’s farm-tested physique had super-hero potential. “At 6-foot-4, he was a strong giant,” says Seth Grahame-Smith, who adapted his novel for the screen.Reel: To match Lincoln’s lean frame, actor Benjamin Walker shed 30 pounds; the 30-year-old wore prosthetics to age himself for Abe’s later years.

THE WEAPON Real Life: “Rail-splitter,” a political nickname and the basis for Lincoln’s everyman appeal, was a nod to his humble roots and knack for splitting logs with an ax.Reel: That ax gets some Bond-worthy updates for the film: The blade is coated with silver for vampire-slicing efficiency, and it can also turn into a gun.
THE TRAGEDYReal Life: He lost many loved ones during his life but was especially shattered by the death of his 11-year-old son, Willie, from a mysterious illness, which historians believe was typhoid.Reel: Willie is the victim of a vampire assassination plot. The filmmakers used the boy’s death to put their hero “in the deepest hole possible,” says Grahame-Smith.
THE INSPIRATION Real Life: Lincoln’s antislavery sentiments were likely stoked by watching a slave auction during a trip to New Orleans at age 19.Reel: While visiting the Big Easy, Lincoln discovers that many slave owners are vampires looking for an easy source of blood.

What was it like singing with such music legends? I couldn’t believe it was happening! I grew up idolizing these singers. You couldn’t get bigger than Paul McCartney in my house.

What was the first impression you ever did? It was James Cagney when I was 2 years old. I’m on tape saying, “You dirty rat!” As I got older, I started doing Rodney Dangerfield, Steve Martin, and anyone on Saturday Night Live.

Do you have any TV addictions? My wife and I love watching reality TV shows—any of the Housewives, The Amazing Race, and Survivor. I gotta stay up on my video games, too.

Were you the class clown as a kid? I always wanted to make the teacher laugh. One of my big jokes in fourth grade was when I pointed to a nun’s habit and said, “Is that felt?” And she said, “No,” and I rubbed my hands on it and said, “Now it is!” I thought I was so funny. I found the right job, I think.